Using Referrals to Find Bathroom Remodeling Contractors
By Greg Vanden Berge


This is a process, I'm more familiar with than most, because I'm in the construction business and have gotten more referrals, from contractors and homeowners than you could ever possibly imagine. I have had problems with over 90% of all the referrals I have received during my career as a general contractor.

I might be a little more selective and harder to work for, because I expect someone to actually do the job, that they are under contract and would expect the job to be completed in a timely manner. I don't actually expect these people to do their job right, do I. that might be asking too much from some of the contractors I have worked with.

My wife works as a business coach and teaches the process of working by referral to her clients. She seems to work with some pretty competent people and it seems like most of the people she deals with, understand the referral process extremely well and use it often, with very little problems.

When we bought our home, we had a home security system installed and this process took over two months and does not meet our satisfaction upon completion. When the alarm is activated and goes off accidentally, we have problems turning the system off. I'm not going to go into all the details but this was a referral from someone she knew, that didn't work out well.

The second referral was for a block wall that was built in the backyard. The contractor did his job in a timely manner and I was impressed with the work that was done. This contractor met almost all the guidelines for hiring a contractor, except for one thing.

The block wall contractor, knew I was a general contractor but he was dealing with my wife and she was extremely helpful and friendly, some contractors take advantage of other's kindness. Upon completion of the job the contractor gave her a bill and asked her if she would give him an extra $1500 because of additional expenses that he could not foresee. This is not standard practice for a fixed contract and is extremely poor business in my opinion.

She didn't give him the additional $1500 and he never directly asked for it face to face. It was more like a suggestion to her and he made it sound like it was part of the original contract. I explained a few things about illegal contracting to her and he didn't receive any extra money and never contacted her about it again. Another one of those life lessons, I guess.

Treat all of your bathroom remodeling referrals as a step in the right direction but don't assume that these contractors are going to do a fantastic job for you and you won't have any problems with them. Make sure you feel comfortable with these people or find someone else.